Tag Archives: post-modern

Youth today would find it hard to imagine a world without facilities available to them. As a writer quipped that in future, grandchildren would laugh at you, if you told them you could not read Amazon books on Kobo or Sony format on Nook. Apart from ease, what else is it that technology realizes? Empowerment. Which may work both ways.

The sufferer is economically deficient class, community and individuals. Less, through poverty and more through refusal to get distracted, did a number of communities invite a techno-bias. There is nothing that hurts as neglect. It is an invisible weapon of decay.

Often, perfection in their knowledge-system demanded insularity and Indian sciences survive today only where this rule is followed. Far more blunt than imaginary deductions of physics that lead to uncertainty, is the truth that any interaction between two systems is certain to change them both. To an alloy the touch of gold would bring little change in its value, but the purity of gold gets destroyed at once.

Indian artiste is the wrapt most self-situated individual. To qualify this statement, consider his motivation. His art is the medium granted to him to offer his gratitude to creator for having been granted the ability to offer it. Tautology? All forms of art transcend words that concretize thought. Suffice here then, for some incomprehensible reason, he would behave in a fashion that does nothing to weld a relationship between his art and the world that surrounds him. Why? Why, is he not bothered by presence of others besides him, on this planet? Is it not his duty to acknowledge them and do something for them?

We are truly social creatures now. Man’s dependence on others has reached exponential levels; also his connectedness. The time between one man’s thought another’s benefit is drastically reduced. Also, time is no longer an absorbent or muffler that might diminish or soften harsh ideas or actions. This “real-time” action takes away any meaningful action on individual level. While it turns life into a queue or a traffic lane with little leeway for self-directed action (theirs not to question why, theirs but to do and die), greatest sufferers are those who dwell in the realm of creativity, imagination and ideas.

On the Wall -- Gary McHarg

The movement of ICH (Unesco Convention 2003) is directed against the constrictive, regimentation-oriented all-pervading force of globalization. In broad terms it aims to safeguard traditional practices that rise out of and define the life-style of a community but are threatened by socio-economic changes amplified by technology that spell “modernity”, “progress” and “global unification” today. It rightly recognizes that to ensure continuity of practices involving oral transfer of knowledge the community needs to be empowered so that it may retain its mode of existence. There is emphasis on the issue of privacy. In the attempt made by outsiders, to preserve the traditional practice there is fair chance the endeavour turns into “museumification” (relocation of artifact/ practice away from its natural context through suggested economic measure for self-sustenance) and “demuseumification” (forced interaction robs people and practice of their original context and artificially re-places them for “authenticity”) thereby destroying the very purpose. The convention reinforces consent, involvement and commitment of the community in safeguarding a practice.

On first count, intangibility in several of such practices lies in experiential truths gleaned over a period and preserved as racial memory; here, in part, a direct approach might work without absolute dismantling the practice. The other kind is that, which permeates all artistic expressions. This has no substitute. It is an end to itself. As there is no distinction made between the two, practices of latter kind are certain to suffer by any outside intervention. Situation grows still more complex with realization that most practices involve both aspects of intangibility.

Like the recurring decimal in arithmetic, even when a phenomenon has been explained in all possible manner, there always remains a non-terminating section of sense that eludes language. This indicates that indestructibility is an essential aspect of intangibility. Intangibility: Transcending Visuality

But for all that, a clear mechanism has not been defined to this end.

The convention further recognizes the urgency “to ensure respect for the intangible cultural heritage of the communities, groups and individuals concerned”. As a corollary, it also provides “to raise awareness at the local, national and international levels of the importance of the intangible cultural heritage, and of ensuring mutual appreciation thereof”. Whereas in essence, this is a simple statement of what their practice is to members of a given community; the action from outside, even when it is to preserve and promote, shall destroy the very fabric. Then, is the whole activity futile? There is a simple and clear answer which translates the noble idea into possible action. The end of all action — at least end of that, which affects the living conditions of the community. With no external distractions the people and practice shall continue as directed by their local habitat. Even if that was possible, would it be advisable – keeping them perpetually under certain conditions and infringing upon their right to change? This is a perfect case for differendas defined by Lyotard. So often, like Eliza Dolittle, the learner complains about the loss of his innocence he was never conscious of in the first place.

Prior to the Unesco Conventionthere never had been voiced such a concern that sought international consensus in a planned manner. A few decades back, when visionaries of a global village were engaged with more tangible matters, it was too early to predict the predatory instinct of this benign utopian force. The convention is a timely answer to developing situation. Like all actions taken in response to crisis, it is to be commended more for its spirit – the essential intangibility – that recognizes the danger. It is justified in its demand to ‘ensure respect’. But only in an ancient civilization being shaken up by forces of “globalization” like India, can one understand how challenging is this demand.

Respect was the manifest most and best practiced aspect of intangibility that despite all external influences and interaction maintained the complex social fabric of this nation. Globalization functions on principle of erosion of intangible aspect of such intrinsic values. Today, within a single decade respect has been chased away from personal, social, aesthetic and vocational areas. Political and legal enterprise succeed in establishing justice for certain idea at the cost of sacrificing older yet still valuable ones. In a sense, in absence of broadening of our understanding, we destroy order to make way for the future one.

A community gains its identity because of the balance it achieves with external conditions. They sing and dance in a certain way, on such occasions as ‘holi’ or ‘potlatch’, because their knowledge and belief propel them to do so. It is theirway to attain harmony with universe. Integrity of observation relies on holism. If one were to say that song and dance are elements of their culture but some or the other of their practice being ‘barbaric’ is not, hence the first should be encouraged while the latter decried, it is being judgmental. How can we stop being that? Is not all progress judgmental? Secondly, the moment external conditions change (the presence of alien world intruding through ‘cultural facilitator’) the coherent, integral essence is violated. The foreign curiosity about the dance, song or their head-gear makes the members conscious of these things in a new way; they themselves become agents of museumification.

Cycle of Innovation -- Gary McHarg

Respect demands a certain level of fixity, permanence, reliability in the the tangible world. When the modern conditions reduce life to biological category of production and reproduction, human beings have no control over their lives at most basic level; they shall not be able to understand, uphold and practice such values in their true aspect and bloom. The current attitudes and processes aim at fluidity, flexibility, change and adaptability, in attaining which the traditional definitions are clear impediments. Thus the respect rising out of love and veneration is changed to acceptance of a stern action or confinement for immediate local gain. The integral aspect of knowledge has given way to practiced expected responses. A traditional world view based on apparent non-change has woken up to dizzying whirl of change and novelty inducing the individual to exchange intangibility for visuality.

This bubble experientiality does not allow organic existence of any idea, discarding the present for a bold shiny one in the offing. Scholars have often expressed their anxiety whether tradition of Indian Classical Music would survive. To learn such an instrument as Rudra or Vichitra Veena one has to go through several stages — learning and mastering Dhrupad singing, playing simpler instruments like Sitar, Sarod and then graduating to the Veena. The whole process was based on unquestioned acceptance of the basics, regular practice and compete dedication to one’s art. The process breaks down to rich availability of time. Learning itself was the end thus establishing again the principle of harmony which communities follow. As all actions are understood to be agents for some material gain, music too is being molded to be an activity of immediate reward. Not only is richness of time no longer a given, the intangible relation between activity and joy has been derecognized. Scholar musicians would use their art to thread pearls of wisdom — the notes of Sam Ved being preserved in Raga Sameshwari — but would such a thing be possible in future?

If only the whirlwind nature of change could be contained, practices would not require safeguarding; they shall unselfconsciously change surely and as imperceptibly as earth on its axis, giving rise to ideas fresh as seasons.

Reading an article by an eminent professor, I was moved by his statement early in my reading: “But in the process, the system also acquired undesirable traits like untouchability. ” In my mind I had some reactions against the apparent connotation of the statement, but further into text I found that he rejected this as a hypothesis based on his experiences of growing up in rural Punjab. He talked about how people of different castes maintained some distinctions and at the same time rejected several unstated regulations/ beliefs to coexist in harmony even while this period was close to partition (years around 1947).

Indeed, the notion of caste is not simple: In case of Hindu caste system, it is the plethora of multi-layered, alien, untutored, self-aggrandizing view-points carelessly (maybe, with deep design) promoted, which turned it into such a monstrosity that by the time I entered teens in early ’70s I had decided to shun it altogether. I toyed with the idea of discarding the second half of my name, that typically in India indicates the caste (in reality it is a far deeper classification) of a person. I had read that upper-caste people had abused and exploited people belonging to lower ones. In my immediate experience there was no apparent example of that; but it might have been true at a certain period. And in atonement, the least I could do was to discard the privilege (if any—I did not know for certain) that my ‘Sir’-name would indicate. I did (and despite everything, still do now) believe in the whole world being a single family without any difference in status. So, to live free of any weighted signifier, ought to be the course for a Citizen of the World. How could anyone aspire to be less?

From that teen idealism (perhaps the most powerful) grew several unconventional acts. One of which was giving my son an identifier (with no inkling to caste) that would make him unique in the world. Google search proves that today when he has crossed his teens, my belief still holds.

The funny part is that I have been made to look foolish because of this act. I requested the officer issuing his passport in India and he assured me that I may well leave the Surname blank, entering the two parts in his Firstname. U.S. regulations also accepted this as F.N.U. — First name Unknown. But beyond that no one is sensitive to the issue. He missed an assistant-ship because between different computer systems his name did not match (one using First part as Surname, the other vice-versa). All his life he will be caught in unraveling the muddle various offices keep creating — sadly in a country where this was least expected. I know of many people in India with two name-bits (none signifying caste) Saurabh Pankaj, Reeta Madhav, Sohan Bharatiya etc. who are not hassled because of this.

Few bend, some straight as pride

The lesson I learnt is that one should not try to change the course of history without understanding in full. If as an impressionable idealistic child I had not ingrained anti-caste ideas, I might not have committed such a folly. It is not your name but your action that counts — at least in an egalitarian society. And India is truly egalitarian today in this sense. The hospitality industry and along with it, almost all others would not have boomed, if Indians stuck to caste-based untouchability. Sad to say that while sixties and early seventies were devoted to national integration trying to tide up real problems — linguistic division of states, sharing of resources etc. — the evil eighties granted this near-dead abstraction a new lease of life by turning it into a political reality. It was a response to global racialism — our Indian home-grown version, of fine vintage.It exists solely because of reservation policy contained within our constitution (again out of best intentions) — some castes are included, some are not. Indian academics should clearly measure out how much benefit people of a certain caste have actually enjoyed because of reservation. Initially, it was getting government jobs; but the current economy rewards people in private sector and in truly positive caste-insensitive way, based on profitability. An upper-caste well-educated boy is often rejected because he can not deliver to match a rustic performer from other caste. In a way, this is fair play and if brawn happens to be in greater demand than brain, it is a case of natural selection. A large part of people provided for by this clause have in reality lead their lives in poverty and misery having received little direct assistance. It is the economic polarization that is responsible for their dire status and not the manifestation of individual frustration misread as expression of caste-based aggression. The sole reason this tainted abstraction is still alive, is that politicians want localized power by fracturing the society.

(#) In US some states insist on teaching Christian theory of Genesis (to counter-act the Darwinian theory of evolution). Is either theory a candidate for rigmarole — they are diametrically opposed!

Often people evaluate an idea from a set of circumstances purportedly brought about by the the idea. The caste-system that we rightfully denounce as being responsible for unpleasant contemporary truth, is not the original design at all. It is like condemning the fruit from its present rotten state, without ever tasting a fresh banana. In India, Jaati was a scientific term along with Varna. Based on what might seem as rigmarole(#) to us now, it nurtured the Ashram system of coordinating individual life harmoniously with the social and political in a placid life-order. The only distinction acceptable were academic in nature: Ih-lok and par-lok, aatma and parmaatma, pap or punya, satya or mthya, dharmik or adharmik. The last brought members of all Varna-s at par: if they were true to their life-style, they were equally Dharmik.(*)

(*) Narad proud of his devotion was disappointed to learn that a butcher was considered the greatest devotee by Lord himself. Vishnu then sent him on a tour of the universe with a bowl full of oil and the warning that not a single drop should be spilled. On reaching back Narad confessed that concentrating on the bowl, he had not remembered Lord even once. Vishnu playfully indicated that while he is at work of killing animals, the butcher constantly recited Lord’s name. [Doing one’s karma in ‘nishkam’ manner is true ‘dharma’. Can anyone today appreciate the subtle finesse of the idea of performance without attachment, when you have to constantly give self-appraisals thus becoming an accountant of your slightest actions?]

If the creators of this whole false, flawed system, the Brahmins were selfish, power-mongers why did they allocate power to Kshatriya, riches to Vaishya, providing themselves to collect Bhiksha from five houses once a day and sanctified the practice of fasting (having to go through it every so often)?

The degeneration set in where Karma associated with any Jati took a backseat and privileges began to be commanded as birth-right (literally so, having taken birth within a particular caste). Further the genetic specialty (if you happen to believe in rigmarole referred above) could not have survived with distinction as races intermingled. Quite likely then, the static people located in center proclaimed, that the fringe or border residents no longer carry the noble seed. Hence, even with a caste, further classification was required.

Sad truth is as 21-May (the DoomsDay) believers recently celebrated the day to be beginning of end of the world, it emphasized that a world order had really ended with last century/ millennium, and if you agree with Ray Kurzweil, distinction between man and machine would vanish by 2045. The debate about Caste-system of India comes centuries after Kabir and other Bhakti period saint-poets had announced its demise. We can never rise to such exalted system of distinction-creation any time in future soon. The current attempts stem from immediate profitability — Stores cater to different segments with distinct Brand names: Banana Republic for the fashionable rich, Gap for middle classes and Old Navy for poor bargain-hunters; at the same time distinctions within same economic strata are done away with — everyone wears the same T-shirt, color being the only chance at distinction. Even that is kept same on special occasion — to celebrate the spirit of being universally the same (consumer).

Blending to please

What wonderful age would that have been when Girdhar (alas, no clear links to this great Indian poet) found that “Gun ke gahak sahas nar” (Thousand of seekers for quality), “bin gun lahe na koye” (None would cherish that lacks merit). Today, in the age of Zuckerberg Social-engineering, it is not your own sense of recognition or ability to evaluate that counts, but what your group of friends seem to be hankering after. As follower of your peer group you might go seek (buy) a thousand times something that is “bin gun” (worthless). Poetry, however lives on, with a little change.

Last week CVS had organized a “free” health checkup ‘sponsored’ by Novartis. I was shocked to read this:“Exforge can significantly lower high blood pressure in blacks and African Americans.” (From their folder printed in USA 3/11 EXR-1045804)

The two subtle suggestions are: ( Not whites! they do not need this medicine…. probably they are being warned off this medicine, else they have a different metabolic system)

Secondly: Blacks (whatever they may connote) are Blacks and not African-Americans, who have come far from the shared root and due to their immediate past are different from non-American Blacks; not that distant though – same medicine works on. Here is an infographic displaying expenditure made by phamaceuticals under various heads.

Who says Caste-system and racialism are things of past? I did. Novartis proved me wrong. Granted the modern world of profit does not share the philosophy and traditions that a race or caste might hold sacred; also, that living under umbrella of a globalized world the rough edges of certain practices should not prick others. Why is that for mere material gain we bring to life a hollow version of an outdated idea. If we wish to be ideal optimists, let us never admit any difference; as realists it would do well to recognize the uniqueness without the question of superiority, power, revenge or profit. Till we practice such self-control the greed driven distinction would continue to create differentiating labels. We shall never be rid of caste – the self-seeking evil within.

It is said that words profane an idea. As our restricted technological advance commits us to human communication through imperfect linguistic expression, we conduct ourselves thus. It is this elasticity of language that accounts for greater use of fuzzy logic in all human affairs. So while most people use this phrase to describe a process in which the direction of brain-drain changes, I use it as an appeal to change the nature of such a drain.

It all began with quantification of human being. For some time, it seemed a good thing as historically, human being had been treated as less than that. But while in the past, it was a product of instinct-based more-barbaric-than-civilized society; in the twentieth century it was a conscious act to place human-beings at certain pre-conceived levels. More than anything else, this century can be adjudged as being consumed with the process of evaluating man. For the first time in his history, man had focused his eyes away from gods and heavens towards his own tiny but real existence.

When we speak of a global learning community, we should understand why it is a notion geared less for creation and more for destruction of knowledge. However, to avoid polarization and controversy it is wise to yield to limited practicability of this idea. If we allow that sweep of time is going to annihilate all then, for a little while, the album of such a notion might well carry faded pictures that fail to live the actual tale of life. It is essential that we understand and accept the duality of formal, structured one for global uniformity systems and traditional, discipline-specific systems of proven merit. We respect the second by not including them in the first and by treating them both at par. However in most cases, the formal systems can never match the intensity of the traditional ones. For example, notice how a boy of 5 or 6 begins to learn Tabla or Sitar in a Benares or Calcutta generational musician family. As he grows his learning hours grow to 12-14 hours a day. Same is true of other ancient Indian knowledge systems that commercialization in its bid for profit has usurped for exploitation. Does a student in the formal Ayurvedic medicine course take a morning walk to identify medicinal plants? He would scarcely be able to match the name with real thing. Do we even care to provide him with a walk in a place with medicinal plants? If we forget our holistic methods of learning and exchange them for cut-and-dried research based methods, how can we expect education to serve people at grass-roots?

The three forms of education are primarily for three different learning communities.The formal system is the largest system structured according to present and future needs as perceived by mandarins of State. From our experience of education system in India we can deduce its function and failures:

1. Purported function is to enable the population to enhance their social, economic and political status. As a huge part of population is on fringe of mainstream, the structure has constantly modified itself to include them. This socio-political necessity has taken its toll on academic aspect, becoming facile and laborious for the intellectually advanced (plans for bright students in 70s, 80s were advanced, but they grew out of fashion rather than academic standards; the superiority of infrastructure driven by commercial interests, came into existence; after that all discussions had little to do with education, more with appearance and profitability).

This is for middle classes geared for upward mobility. This serves to give planners, civil servants and main-stream white-collared work force.

2. The semi-formal existed with state support to religious institutions, which allowed some traditional knowledge to be delivered, mostly in a mediocre fashion.

This is generally for weaker sections unless an empowered individual specifically desires to pursue this. Blue collared and agricultural workers generated out of this helped in maintaining traditional ethos and harmony. Largest section of the populace, it is this group that displays the true democratic fervor of a nation. Amity, endurance and hard work that bind the society are outcome of their faith.

3. Informal education of traditional wisdom has survived through individuals following the Guru-Shishya tradition either with support from community, charity or through sheer personal will. Excellence and perfection resulted out of dedication and devotion, where the knowledge gained was its own reward. It is this group that is vastly threatened today by penetrative, all-pervading, despoiling stance of modern systems. It is this informal system of life-view transference that needs to be safe-guarded.

This serves for creating specialized professionals from scholar to the artisan. The knowledge gain here is inter-mingled with meditation of and actual life-style. People from all economic sections are accommodated within its various forms.

The need therefore is to keep the last two throbbing and vibrant as we perfect the first for smooth operation. Learning, which leads to wisdom, is born out of a life-style that serves both, the individual and the community. Modern scientific approach may improve the formal structure so long it does not denounce, denigrate or despoil the traditional systems. There never is a question that ancient learning systems deliver. This premise serves as starting point for all action groups. When these systems are denounced, the deep-rooted understanding is of their possible and certain outcome. They proffer and produce resistive strength towards desirables of modern behavior – mindless consumption due ambition and greed; limited intelligence suitable to carry out certain tasks without deviating from predictable SOP (standard operating procedure); lack of strong social bond and personal time together which may lead to rejection and revolution.

Formal structures serve to create an army of obedient slaves till their mechanical alternative is perfected. Well, not always; but because they leave little to open stimulus or external flux, they may well be engineered for total compliance. However, it is less about fault-tolerance than their actual status. Structured training can also open up new vistas within a person, if consciously perfected for this end. Ordinarily, with greater concern on eroding individual traits, it often breeds a common point of view and similar preferences.

The second has been forwarded to accommodate the globally structured one; otherwise, as corollary to knowledge delivery through different traditional systems, it is already included. After all the structured system too has a tradition to speak of.

In planning educational changes across India, the first realization should be that we are different from Australia, Canada, America etc., because we are not a recently discovered geographic location. We well might be the beginning of civilized existence of mankind. Our history has been unbroken and our culture banks on continuity.

America is most glorious place in the world — freest of them all. Its history starts with migration after renaissance. The world (European world) had struggled with evolution, civilization, war, famine, dark ages and re-awakening, all before they knew of this geographical part of world. So, it was fully developed and cultured people from different nations, beliefs and creeds who travelled to this place and created a rational society based on their cumulative diverse experiences after eradicating the natives and importing a working class from Africa. Almost all days — Father’s day, Mother’s day… — were created here. They do not arise out of any previous cultural/ religious practice but out of need to create a common cultural inheritance. This is an example of how all its proposed strategies and plans are founded on rational practices (as opposed to organic evolutionary ones) and to serve lowest common denominators cut off from geography, history, vocation, religion and racial memory. To be able to start off with a clean slate! Truly a dream-place for democracy so long it remains a conscious value. Rational men may treat each other politely but would hardly engage in such irrational tasks as love, honor, narrow loyalty, custom, ritual that might propel a member of an organically evolved society to act out. Rational persons work on a single principle — profit / gain. If through certain action the world ‘gains’ knowledge it is good and so on. Even after this, the rational thinkers understood well that if administered properly, the personal ‘gain’ motive could be harnessed for a better and stronger community. Pride in their nation as an example of best governance counter-balanced greed; the intoxicating faith in its power was blinding.

India is a country that has survived on wisdom of sages threaded into a complete life style — education, work, fulfillment, self-contemplation, belief — with built in social security, safety valves, law and order. The beauty was inner integration. Software designers speak of the ideal ‘foundation code/core’ with different ‘user-interfaces’ serving all without anyone realizing the massive expanse of design. Indian system catered to all human needs – personal and social; even surreal, ethereal. Lacking which, people in the great free land of America behave in short-termed fashion – rationally to situations within their experience and unpredictably to anything out of normal. Lack of deep faith brings in strange responses – people reacting in utmost irrational fashion, committing mass suicides (the only such hysteric cases in India were people committing suicide on death of great film-stars in South like MGR; but they too have waned) to news of change in movement of heavenly bodies. See this report on National Geographic

Human evolution has been measured by material (technological) gain, intellectual maturity (social/political order) and emotional sensitivity (reflected in all behavior but consolidated in Arts). We might spy a natural opposition in Technology and Arts: the first groups, the other detaches or distinguishes. Whereas, classically the material gain created a prosperous social order which celebrated human spirit/sensitivity, today it has surpassed all others — it is an analogy gone berserk: rather than material existing for human consumption, humans exist for consuming material; like breeding rats because you have a cat in the house. There have been many stories regarding this inverse extreme — Midas dying of hunger because all he touched turned into gold, Bhasmasur blessed with ability to annihilate anyone by touch and running to burn the god who empowered him.

Sanity does not come through gain alone; renunciation too is required. Where do we find the act of renunciation built within any modern rational system? Planning for one’s retirement begins here from day one of your job. I saw an ad for a seminar by best-seller writer of Rich Dad Poor Dad. The gist seemed to imply that as today the values of getting better education, hard work, savings etc. have been made useless by the current materialism, he would teach new methods of saving your money. “With the Choose to be Rich Coaching Program, you start doing what the rich do and the poor and middle class don’t.” It is clearly a case of value being replaced through local strategies/ tactics. He is all praise for education: “A good coach is someone who’s been there and done that, who knows the rules and strategies like the back of their hand. Someone who has knowledge and experience—and a track record of success after success. A good coach will point out your weaknesses, challenge you to grow, give you helpful training, and cheer you on when you succeed. A good coach will take you to the next level.” Did I say education? Sorry! It is coaching: coaching you to not get discouraged by your poor performance in the race of greed and wealth. Run, man, run! How apt was the coinage for such a life: rat-race.

That India still practices renunciation was dramatically exhibited to the world when an heir-apparent used the privilege to place the most competent person as CEM. Is it in the same world where dictators remain glued to their thrones wreaking cruel justice?

Now, when we plan any strategy for India, we should first examine our stand-point:1. Are we looking from outside (Non-Indian) position? (Stake-wishers, Alien Promoters)2. Are we on inside and wish to import future through verbatim imitation (Stake-holder, Materialist)?3. As insiders do we wish to restore ancient traditions through complete denial of present reality (Stake-holder, Fundamentalist)?4. Insiders using tradition to evaluate present reality for a sustainable future (Stake-holder, Integrationist)?

If you choose the position that seems best option for the people, do you find others who have as clear an idea about themselves and their role? It was the purpose of education to create such persons. If you realize that we do not have sufficient number of true-stake-holders, work towards their creation based on whatever qualities demanded by your stance.